New answers tagged productivity
1
The word "overachiever" can have different interpretations here, and the answer can be different because of that. I discovered this in a chat with JBentley (thanks!).
To illustrate let's suppose that two people, Alice and Bob, are both fixing cars. The company expects new hires to both fix ten cars a day. As they gain experience, in one year's time, the ...
1
Flipped around from the other perspective this would be like you telling the CEO, "don't expect productivity increases unless you pay something really exceptional". Expressed that way is damaging to the relationship also, but makes it more apparent why...
In general, one should steer clear of taking a hard line on the terms of the relationship, unless there ...
1
This is fine, as a temporary situation, if and only if the company is in a recession. In such a situation it means "we don't have money for pay raises, but for those who truly deserve one we'll reserve the right to make an exception.".
It's also fine in a low skill industry, when the company expects rehiring and retraining to be fast and cheap, and ...
7
Not only is this policy counterproductive, but it's actually a great way of losing the talent that the CEO is trying to reward!
Imagine a basic entry-level job that pays $100. After a year of 2% inflation, what do you think the same entry level job will pay for someone just starting? Or someone starting ten years later? The salary will go up - but it's ...
3
It is not counterproductive IF the same rules also apply to the CEO and the board of directors.
Almost by definition, none of those roles allow them to carry out anything exceptional. If the company makes a successful profit, that is merely them carrying out their job normally. If they are seen to be taking pay rises, dividends, stock options or any other ...
16
unless you're an overachiever or do something really exceptional
This is arbitrary. In reality it means the CEO is unwilling to give raises and is telling everyone not to ask him. He's just putting it in a nice way to avoid confrontation and since he's arbitrarily stating what he wants, he could form fit it into anything. "I put in 20 hours of extra work a ...
3
We can talk whatever we want, but it all comes down to supply and demand in that place and time.
If the employees can find, in the same country and city, a better job (more paid, or better in other ways), they can prove the CEO wrong.
If they cannot, if there are no better jobs for the same level of skill and productivity, then the CEO is right.
However, ...
2
The CEO appears to be assuming that other similar employers in the area are only giving inflational salary increases (on average) and that the salaries for staff in their industry are increasing in line with inflation.
That may be the case (I am not familiar with the specifics of your industry/job market). However, if it is not and salaries in the 'market' ...
11
Lying is counterproductive
It's reasonable to assume that this is an accurate description of the current situation - that the company fully expects to keep its salary budget per headcount the same (given the inflation adjustment) and the budgets allocated to smaller units and middle management reflect that.
So what we're discussing is actually about the ...
6
Bonuses or commission are more usual mechanisms for this kind of thing.
i.e. You get your salary for doing your job, and there's an expected level of value you deliver there. Then you get bonuses for specific extra things you do on top to deliver any tangible extra value.
There are issues with motivating such things with salary increases, simply because ...
33
Are employees becoming more valuable to the company over time? For example, do they tend to develop skills that make them more productive or maintain relationships that bring in business?
If so, it'd make sense to increase their compensation over time to reflect their increasing value. Otherwise, it'd seem like employees would leave to pursue better-...
1
No, from the CEO perspective. And properly run methods of measurments of employee "productivity".
A pay increase, above inflantion, should be a reward for doing more than you are paid for. If you are hired for X amount to do Y stuff then if you do Y+C your pay should also reflect that.
If you do that extra C once then you should get bonus.
If you do it ...
9
In a lot of countries money loses its value over time due to inflation. For example, Swedish financial politics have a set goal of 2% inflation per year. This means my salary will be worth about 2% less next year unless I get a raise.
So should you expect a raise? I would expect a base raise of 2% per year because otherwise I get a pay decrease meaning the ...
8
Yes. It’s counter-productive. And yes, it’s also a challenge. It just depends on the mentality of the listener.
On one end of the spectrum, those who come to work with the mindset of accomplishing the minimum requirement and complain about the smallest thing that comes up will find it upsetting, demoralizing etc... alongside things like the fridge is one ...
159
Is this counter-productive for staff moral, retention, and
productivity?
Yes, it is.
People generally get better at their jobs with more experience, and if their productivity increases, they expect to be compensated for it. If it becomes clear that won't happen at this job, they'll start looking for some place where it will. The very best employees, if ...
5
If you're experiencing burnout (i.e. this is affecting your health, your general mental state, your social life or other parts of your life), go see a doctor. Burnout is serious and can result in long-term damage unless treated appropriately. The below should not be considered alternatives to getting professional medical treatment.
Many of the points below ...
-1
Not taking time off is not recommended, you'll then have to accept the risk that this will make things worse, making a very long period of absence necessary. Now, if you are going to ignore the recommended advice and take this risk then the best you can do is bet that the half a billion of years of evolution has optimized your body well enough to pull itself ...
0
This could be me.... several times throughout my career.
What I can recommend from personal experience in a situation like that is:
productive distraction
conscious time scheduling
intense relaxation
Productive Distraction
Your mind wanders and no amount of willpower will force it on track, because willpower is the exact resource that you've spent all of....
0
As a fellow Developer, I have been where you are. These help:
Watch your caffeine intake! Too much coffee/tea messes with your head; revs it into high gear, and causes your mind to “refuse to cooperate.” It also disrupts your sleep cycles. It’s a vicious cycle: you are exhausted, so you drink coffee, which interrupts your sleep, and you wake up exhausted, ...
2
What worked for me: get a job in an office.
I also spent about 5 years working from home, sometimes on multiple projects at once and also found myself unable to force myself to concentrate anymore.
I started to wonder whether I will be ever productive and employable again.
But then I started a new gig, which required office presence.
Getting a new job/...
1
I'm going to contribute simply with something that worked well for me in a similar situation. It may be entirely unsuitable for you, and you may be better off consulting with a professional as many answers here have suggested.
Just take the time off. Do something that will generate value, but nothing that requires staying in a room staring at a computer. ...
3
The answer may not be as complicated as people make out. Simply this: stop working on your personal project. Just put it away and focus instead fully on your paid work. At the same time, develop a habit of working regular hours, and using your non-working hours for self-fulfillment, for example, doing things that don't require a lot of mental effort, like ...
6
Speaking as someone who also works from home as a software engineer, and who also loves his hobby projects, I can suggest some low impact things that might help provided you have not got yourself in too deep.
Take a short break soon
Whatever you can afford, perhaps a long weekend. Do something you would not usually do, for a change. If you are low on money,...
7
While you might actually suffer from a burn-out, you might have been wrong with your self-diagnosis.
Ideally, you go away from programming, in a relaxing environment, for a minimum of two weeks. You define relaxing: walking in nature, seaside, doing some sports - hiking, cycling...
But you state you do not want to take time off. In this case, we need to ...
84
Go talk to a doctor or psychologist. Apart form this advice, do not listen to people on the internet saying things you should do
Burnout is a serious affliction, not to be taken lightly.Your brain is overworked and things have broken down.
This does not need to be permanent but it could be if you do not take care.
That is not to say you have the full ...
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